Memorial Hall Voted "Best Concert Venue" by Cincinnati Magazine!

We're thrilled to announce that Hamilton County Memorial Hall, “home” of the Longworth-Anderson Series, was recently voted our region's "Best Concert Venue" by Cincinnati Magazine readers.

To be voted as such in a city bursting with excellent venues is an incredible honor.  There's also some poetry in receiving this recognition as we prepare to celebrate the building's 10th anniversary post-renovation.

Thanks to the collaboration of Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society (CMHS—our nonprofit helping to guide and preserve Memorial Hall since 2004), Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC—operations and programs manager), and Hamilton County (Memorial Hall's owner), this historic building underwent an $11.2-million comprehensive renovation and modernization in 2015-16, resulting in the first-class performance and event space it is today.  Over the past three years, we partnered on a building assessment study and capital campaign to raise an additional $1.1 million from the Friends of Memorial Hall, including $500,000 from Hamilton County, for high-priority projects including:  roof system replacement; proscenium lighting upgrades; restoration of historic doors, windows, and decorative painting; and safety improvements.

Preservation of this 1908 Beaux Arts treasure is ongoing, and each of Memorial Hall's partners (CMHS, 3CDC, and Hamilton County) plays a pivotal role in its continued success. CMHS’s leadership in advocacy, fundraising, and our popular Longworth-Anderson Series undoubtedly contributed to this award.

As patrons and supporters of Memorial Hall, this recognition belongs to YOU, our community, as much as it does to us.  Thank you for your investment in the venue we all love, and for trusting our team to protect this "perfect gem" of a theater for generations to come.

Memorial Hall and the Longworth-Anderson Series—Creating Connection

The essence of live music performance is the potent connection between the musicians and their audience.

Cincinnati’s Memorial Hall is one of the most intimate venues in the region to foster this connection. But don’t just take our word—listen to what Longworth-Anderson Series (LAS) concert attendees have to say:

• “Memorial Hall is the best venue in Cincinnati! I think it inspires musicians to play their best.”

• “The LAS concerts are the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert. The reception is great because you get to talk with many other fans before the show. The concert venue is so intimate - it’s almost like the show is happening in your living room!”

• “It is a showplace of exquisite beauty. A venue from older times when a theater was built with acoustics in mind, but also grandeur, a theatrical space that takes your breath away when you first walk through those doors. It makes one stop dead in his tracks to just absorb the beauty and history that permeates throughout the entire building. You can almost feel the remnants of wonderful past performances.”

• “The intimacy of Memorial Hall draws me in close to the artists.”

• “I’m a Cincinnati native, but this was my first time at Memorial Hall, and it was the most stunning venue. Loved the intimate feel of the concert.”

• “The venue was just AMAZING. I've seen a lot of shows, in a lot of venues, but I felt immediately that this place was special.”

The word “intimate” is dominant in most reviews of the Memorial Hall experience—which might not have been a surprise to Samuel Hannaford & Sons, who designed the building in 1908 as a memorial to veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. The Hall was originally a meeting place for veterans in the early 20th Century, and a welcome location for community events. The Cincinnati Preservation Association led the first renovation of the Hall in 1990-1992 with a more comprehensive renovation completed in 2016 by the Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society (CMHS), 3CDC, and Hamilton County.

That latter restoration placed Memorial Hall as one of the catalysts of the revitalized arts district surrounding Washington Park. The next year saw CMHS’s inception of the LAS, which presents Grammy Award-winning and other nationally recognized performers in a variety of contemporary music genres.

Perhaps Samuel Hannaford & Sons didn’t set out to create the most personal and welcoming concert hall in the Tri-State area, but nearly 120 years later, Cincinnati music lovers are grateful.

—Scott Seward

Ohio Open Doors Memorial Hall Tours

Explore a beautifully restored Beaux Arts gem as historic Memorial Hall, “home” of the Longworth-Anderson Series, opens its doors for free tours on Monday, September 12. The evening will consist of two tours bridged by a social hour (cash bar) in the ballrooms, featuring live music from jazz pianist Dan Karlsberg.

Please click here to make a reservation for one of the two tour times: 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Up to two guests may attend per reservation. Registration is required and limited to the first 20 registrants for each tour. Co-presented by the Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society and Memorial Hall, with support from Cincinnati Museum Center Heritage Programs.

About Ohio Open Doors:

Ohio Open Doors was created in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. Passed by Congress and signed into law in 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act made preserving historic, architectural, and archaeological resources whenever possible a policy of the federal government. Ohio continues to rank among our nation’s leading states in preserving historic places.